Maintenance of operating equipment is an ongoing problem. It is a particularly challenging problem when the operating equipment performs critical functions and must be kept operating in good acceptable conditions.
One example of operating equipment that must be maintained, monitored and diagnosed is power generating equipment. There are many components of a power generating system. For example, power generating systems can include turbines, generators, boilers and transformers. They may also include related auxiliary equipment, such as pumps and drives, fans, valves, exhaust gas cleaning systems etc. Each of these components are subject to failure and must be monitored and maintained to provide adequate performance, particularly in mission critical circumstances.
Many other types of equipment are subject to the same considerations. For example, medical equipment and other industrial equipment also need to be monitored to insure proper operation.
There are many root causes for out-of-normal operational behavior of operational machinery. This makes it very difficult to exhaustively characterize the physical operation of the machinery. An exhaustive characterization of failure mechanisms of equipment is also very difficult. Thus, the monitoring and maintenance of the equipment is time consuming and expensive. It usually requires very highly trained and certified personnel. Thus, companies spend a great deal of human capital and make a large investment to monitor and maintain operating equipments. It is a constant worry for operating entities and requires constant vigilance.
Accordingly, new and improved methods, apparatus and systems are needed to improve the monitoring and maintenance of a variety of different machines and systems.